Jak Crawford won a tumultuous race at Silverstone, ahead of Alex Dunne and Luke Browning in particularly tricky weather conditions. The American driver from the DAMS Lucas Oil team got off to an excellent start from the third row and withstood constant pressure from the Irishman to secure his third victory of the season.
Missed start for Martins
Victor Martins, who secured pole position the day before, completely botched his start on Sunday morning. The ART Grand Prix driver was caught off guard from the very first meters, allowing Crawford to leap into the lead as soon as the lights went out. Dunne took advantage of the situation to move up to second place, pushing Martins down to third.
From the first lap, Crawford built a one-second lead over Dunne. Further back, Luke Browning began a spectacular recovery from twelfth position. The Hitech driver gained four places at the start, before challenging Arvid Lindblad for eighth place.
Crawford in control, Browning makes a comeback
Leading the race, Crawford quickly took control and widened the gap over Dunne. The American displayed remarkable skill in these challenging conditions, maintaining a steady pace despite the pouring rain.
Behind, Luke Browning took advantage of the circumstances to start a nice comeback. The Hitech driver overtook Lindblad on the second lap at Stowe, after a tight duel, before his teammate Beganovic did the same. Browning then targeted Verschoor, the championship leader, and passed him at Copse corner thanks to a well-executed outside feint.
In the fifth lap, the two Hitech drivers overtook Sebastián Montoya, continuing their progression. In the lead, Crawford still had a 1.8-second advantage over Dunne, while Martins was already more than three seconds behind.
Crawford widens the gap, the battle intensifies behind.
The activation of the DRS on the fifteenth lap allowed Crawford to maintain his lead over Dunne, even though the Irishman had started to gradually close in. The American driver managed to keep a solid pace and carefully managed his tire wear.
In the peloton, Browning continued his comeback. Once back in fourth position, he began to put pressure on Martins for the third spot on the podium. After several unsuccessful attempts, he finally found a way through on the eighteenth lap, on the outside of Luffield.
Contrasting strategies
The first pit stops occurred on the 21st lap, with Arvid Lindblad opting for a new set of wet tires, a wise choice at the time. Indeed, he gained two seconds per lap on his direct competitors. Meanwhile, Gabriele Minì took a gamble on slicks, but his return to the track did not go well.
As he exited the pits, the Italian collided with Oliver Goethe, who was also on wet tires. Minì ended up off track after a spin, prompting the deployment of a virtual safety car. Crawford took the opportunity to pit as well, but his stop raises regulatory questions.
Shortly after, Roman Stanek went off track after switching to slicks, causing a classic safety car this time. Dunne took advantage of this to pit as well, but lost time behind his teammate Amaury Cordeel, who didn’t make it easy for him to pass despite the blue flags.
Last laps under tension
The race resumed for two final laps. Crawford held the pressure, but Joshua Duerksen lost control in the last corner, triggering another caution. The safety car intervened, freezing the race until the checkered flag.
Crawford thus maintained first place ahead of Dunne and Browning. Beganovic finished fourth, followed by Montoya and Leonardo Fornaroli. Verschoor, only seventh, limits the damage in the championship.
However, Crawford’s victory remains in suspense. The American driver indeed entered the pit lane just before the official activation of the VSC. However, the F2 regulations prohibit any pit stop under virtual safety car conditions, which could compromise the validity of his success.
The championship reignited for Crawford
Thanks to this success, Crawford totals 116 points and is now only six points behind Verschoor (122 points) in the overall standings. If his victory is confirmed despite the incident under VSC, the DAMS driver could well become the main rival of the Dutchman in the title race.
Dunne, for his part, moves up to third place in the championship with 108 points, reducing his gap to Verschoor to fourteen points. Fornaroli holds fourth position with 104 points, while Browning completes the top 5 with 98 points after his comeback today.
Among the constructors, Campos Racing maintains the lead with 153 points. But DAMS Lucas Oil is coming back strong with 142 points, just ahead of Hitech (141). MP Motorsport follows with 134, in front of Invicta Racing (133).
The next round will take place at Spa-Francorchamps from July 25 to 27, where Crawford will hope to confirm his status as a title contender, provided his Silverstone victory is validated by the stewards.
